


Pretty Woman

by MagicInHerMadness



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: AU, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 02:37:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8779831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicInHerMadness/pseuds/MagicInHerMadness
Summary: Pretty Woman AU. It very loosely follows the plot of the movie.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Somebody on tumblr mentioned this and I ran with it because that's one of my favorite movies of all time. I've been working on this for like a week and it made me cry on multiple occasions so good luck lol

Mike wasn't sure how he ended up so lost quickly but there he was, creeping down Canal Street, checking every intersection for the correct street sign that would lead him to his hotel. He finally pulled over and searched his coat pocket for the hotel's address to make sure he didn't have it wrong.

Her voice startled him, but her smile quickly made up for it. "Lonely?"

He frowned, unsure of what to make of her until she leaned further into the window and he caught sight of her lacy black bra peeking out of the lowcut top of her tiny dress. He shook his head. "No. Just lost. Do you know where the Regent Wiltshire is?"

"Directions'll cost you ten bucks."

He frowned. "You can't charge me for directions."

"I can do whatever I want. I'm not lost."

He rolled his eyes but fished his wallet out of the glove compartment. "All I have are twenties."

She grinned again, opened the door and slid into his passenger seat. "Twenty'll get you a guided tour."

Mike's eyebrows quirked as he pulled away from the curb. He glanced at her, tried not to gawk at her stupifyingly long legs tucked in black thigh high boots. "Put on your seatbelt."

She snorted and he wondered how old she was, hoped she wasn't underage. She put on her seatbelt then commented, "This is a really nice car."

"I borrowed it from a friend but thank you."

"Take a left up here," she replied, pointing to the corner.

He took the left then glanced at her. "So what's your name?"

"What do you want it be?" He shot her a look and she gave a crooked smile. "Ginny. What's yours?"

"Mike."

"You know that's my favorite name?" She gave him a smile so pretty he could almost believe it was genuine.

He grinned back. "Imagine that."

"This must be fate." She gave a sweet smile. "Go through this light then turn right at the next one."

He nodded. "So, forgive me for prying, but how much money do you make doing this? Ballpark figure."

She smirked at him. "Doing what?"

"Acting as an informal tour guide," he deadpanned, a small smile curling his lips.

Ginny chuckled. He was certainly more engaging than her usual tricks. "A hundred dollars."

He stopped at the light then turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "You make a hundred dollars a night?"

"An hour."

His eyebrows raised higher. "And men pay that?"

She shrugged and nodded. "I'm drug and disease free. I've got all my teeth. And I possess a particular set of skills that lend themselves to a successful career in...entertainment."

"Such as?"

His foot jerked and slammed the gas pedal when she reached into his lap. "I'm easy to talk to."

Mike cleared his throat. "I have no doubt."

"Besides, it's basic principle of marketing that people believe the more expensive something is, the better it is. So you've gotta price yourself to demand respect."

"As much respect as can be given selling yourself."

 "Everybody sells themselves. I just do it in the most literal sense." He was surprised by the seriousness of her young face. A smile eventually broke through and she turned back to the road. "The hotel's at the end of this block."

He drove to the end of the block, most of his conscious mind focused on her slender hand sliding up and down his burgeoning erection. He stopped the car and she smiled as she got out. Mike took a deep breath and got out too. A valet hurried to him to take his keys. "Will you need the car any more tonight, Mr. Lawson?"

Mike shook his head and folded his coat over his arm then walked around the curb to stand in front of her. She was tall but slight, with thick dark hair and soft brown skin, and a little bird tattooed on the right side of her stomach exposed by a circular cutout in her gold dress. He took out his wallet again and handed over two twenties then smiled at her. "Can I hail you a cab?"

She tucked the money into her bra and shook her head. "I think I'll just take the bus. Got a dollar?"

Mike smirked and dug through his pockets, eventually finding her a crumpled dollar that he handed over. She gave him one last smile then walked away and perched on the bench a few feet away from the hotel's entrance. Mike stared at her back, her hair blowing lazily in the night breeze. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked over. "Does my directions fee get me a discount?"

She looked up with a smile, crossed her legs. "No. Separate transactions."

Mike chuckled, shook his head. "I figured. I suppose a hundred dollars isn't the most expensive date I've been on."

She climbed off the bench, tugged down the hem of her dress, and looked at him expectantly. Mike gestured to the hotel's gilded front doors. "After you."

She sashayed ahead of him and Mike took in her perfect pear-shaped ass. A hundred dollars was considerably worth it. He followed her into the hotel, watched as she looked around. "Wow. This has the Sunset Suites beat by a long shot."

He chuckled. "I hear that's quite the luxury destination."

She shrugged. "It was before the crack whores took it over."

Looking at her look around, he realized he wasn't the only person gawking at her as she stood in the middle of the lobby. She seemed almost oblivious, but in a way that told him she was completely aware but choosing not to be. He put his coat over her shoulders and she seemed to come back to life immediately, slipping her arms through the sleeves. She looked back at him with a wry smile. "Guess this place has a dress code."

He smiled and shrugged as he guided her to the front desk. "Something like that."

The heavily rouged woman at the front desk gave the most fleeting look of horror at the sight of Ginny but quickly recovered when Mike frowned at her. "Good evening, Mr. Lawson. We've been expecting you."

He nodded curtly. "Room service for the penthouse please. Strawberries and champagne. Thank you."

Ginny noted that he didn't wait for a reply, simply took her arm and ushered her toward the elevators where a blushing bellhop rode up to the 30th floor with them, staring at her in the elevator's mirrored doors. She reapplied her lipstick, pouted at him until he looked at his shoes. Mike gave her a side-long look and she grinned. The elevator stopped and he stepped off first, holding the doors open for them. Mike tipped him a five dollar bill and he backed into the elevator, still looking at Ginny as the doors closed. Mike commented, "People seem to find you terribly interesting."

She gave an impish smile. "You'll know why soon enough."

They went into the penthouse and he watched as she stood in the middle of the sunken living room. He teased, "Well it's no Sunset Suites but I guess it's cozy."

She laughed as she slipped off his coat. She sat on the couch, watched as he went to a desk in the corner and opened a briefcase she hadn't noticed. He took out a stack of papers and sat down in the chair, sorting through them slowly. Ginny quirked her eyebrows as she walked over. It was certainly his dime, but she was sure there were more productive ways to spend it. He looked up when she perched on the table. "You're on my fax."

She smiled, shifted onto her side so he could take the paper. "That's a first."

He exhaled a laugh as he took the paper, put it in a stack to his right. Ginny looked down at them and discerned that they were contracts. She snaked her right foot up his leg, eventually perched the pointed toe of her boot on the chair between his legs. Mike looked up at her curiously. "In a hurry?"

"Not particularly. It's your," she checked her thin gold watch, "forty-eight minutes. How you spend it is up to you."

He tilted his head. "I don't care very much for being rushed. How much for the whole night?"

She looked at her watch again. "Well it's midnight so the whole night would technically only be six hours. But since you seem like a nice guy I won't charge you for the unexpected change of plans. I'll even count the forty dollars toward your tab so it'll only be $560."

"Four-hundred."

Ginny shook her head. "Five."

"Four-fifty."

"Deal."

He smiled at her. "You're very stubborn. I like that."

She laughed. "You're probably the only one."

He took her foot off the chair then stood, walked over to the couch. Ginny followed, perched on an ottoman beside the coffee table. Mike watched her unzip one boot then the other, pulling them off to reveal sheer thigh highs with dark seams up the backs of her mile-long legs. She stood and pulled down the dress's side zipper then wriggled out of it, revealing her pink bra and thong, egded in black lace. Mike sat back on the couch, took in the whole image as she stepped out of the pool of fabric then looked up at him expectantly. "Where do you want me?"

He gestured to the ottoman, swallowed hard before he answered. "Can we talk first?"

They sat in stilted silence for a long moment before Ginny spoke. "Why don't you pay me? That's always a nice start."

He took out his wallet, counted out her four-hundred fifty dollars. It only occurred to him that with the forty for directions he'd gone over the agreed budget when he was putting his wallet away. But she was already folding the bills up and securing them to the side of her boot with a safety pin so he figured a refund wasn't happening. Her eyes roamed from the lump tenting his pants to his red face as she sat down. "So, Mike, are you in town on business or pleasure?"

"A little of both I guess."

The doorbell dinged and he moved to get off the couch but she was already on her feet, headed for the door. She opened it and the corners of her mouth quirked when the bellhop nearly dropped his tray at the sight of her. "R-room service."

She stepped back to let him in, watched him gather himself before he entered the room. "Where would you like it?"

She looked at Mike. "Where would we like it?"

Mike gestured to the coffee table. "Here is fine."

Ginny walked ahead of him, resumed her seat on the ottoman, grinning at Mike as the bellhop sat down the tray with a clatter. Mike tipped him and he almost ran out of the room. He looked at Ginny with a smile. "Where do you suppose he's going?"

She laughed. "Probably to see if he can scrounge up 95 more dollars in the next half hour."

Mike laughed too, watched as she scooted off the ottoman to kneel in front of the table. There wasn't an inch of her that wasn't smooth nut brown or begging for his mouth. She pulled the champagne cork from the bottle with her perfect teeth and his eyebrows quirked. She filled two glasses then offered him one. He shook his head. "No thank you. I don't drink."

She shrugged, drank from her glass then sat on the ottoman and looked at him until his face went hot. "What?"

"Are you a mobster?"

He was surprised if nothing else. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "The vague answer about why you're in town, the car you borrowed, the suit, the money, the beard. You've got a certain nondescript but dangerous look about you so I figure you're either a criminal or a cop."

He chuckled. "If I was a cop, wouldn't I have arrested you already?"

She shook her head. "The exchange of money for a sex act isn't a viable crime until the sex act is committed."

He smiled. "Awareness of the law must be surprisingly beneficial in your line of work."

"Being a good judge of who'll let you off for a handjob is better but that doesn't hurt."

He nodded. "To answer your question, I'm not a cop or a criminal."

"Are you a lawyer? You seem sharp but useless."

He laughed. "I'll take that for the compliment I'm hoping it is, but no. I'm a corporate raider."

"Sounds fascinating."

"It's not."

She gave a wry smile. "Well very few jobs have the glitz and glamour of hooking on Canal Street."

He laughed but offered no reply and Ginny climbed off the ottoman. She walked over and straddled him, splayed her hands on his chest. She smiled. "I think you're a little too buttoned up right now."

Mike smiled shyly, watched her nimble fingers work down his buttons. She opened his shirt, ran her fingernails over his muscular chest. "So what do you want?"

"What do you do?"

"Everything except kiss on the mouth."

Mike smirked. "I suppose we all have our limits."

Ginny shrugged. "It's too personal. I did it once when I was just starting out and couldn't shake the guy for a week. He thought we connected or something."

His hands found her thighs and she was surprised at their callouses, guessed he had some outdoorsy hobby that left him so tan and muscular. "I imagine you're quite bewitching when you want to be."

Ginny shrugged, her cheeks hot as she smiled. "I'm more than you can ever dream."

Her hands slipped down to his lap and she undid his pants, pulled his erection out of his boxers and sat back to look down at it as she stroked him. She glanced up at his face. "You've got a big dick."

He smiled wryly. "I'm sure you say that to everyone."

She snorted, nodded. "I do but I'm not lying this time."

Watching her watch him harden with fascination, Mike was inclined to believe her. She paused to grab her purse from the end table and pulled out a bundle of condoms. "I've got red, blue, green—I'm out of purple—but I do have one last Magnum. These are my personal favorite. The condom of champions. Nothing is getting through this sucker."

He nodded and she opened the foil packet with her teeth, rolled the cool latex onto his hot flesh with a level of finesse that he guessed came from frequent practice. She looked up at him and a gentle smile curled her full lips. "Why don't we go in the bedroom? Maybe you'll be more comfortable there."

He allowed her to lead him by his hand, wondering how he would explain that he wasn't some inexperienced shmuck who had never been with a woman. She slipped off her lingerie and climbed onto the bed, extended one of her long legs to rest her thin foot on his shoulder. He shrugged off his shirt and stepped out of his shoes, climbed onto the bed with her. "I'm, uh, not usually like this. It's just... You're beautiful."

She snorted. "I find it hard to believe someone as handsome as you spends his time with ugly women."

He shook his head, his hands moving independently of his mind as they explored her warm flesh. His erection throbbed, praising her soft flesh for the way it sighed beneath his hands. "No. I just got divorced. You're the first woman I've been with in 14 years."

Her eyebrows quirked but a light seemed to go on behind her eyes. "Well nothing's changed. All the parts still go in the same places."

He smiled, appreciating her attempt at humor. "It's not that. It's just... She left me for some guy and as improbable as it is, I can't help but wonder if it was me."

She sat up and he was surprised at the tenderness with which she touched his face, cradled it in her hands. "It's never you. When someone leaves, it's always them. If it was you, they wouldn't have been around in the first place."

It seemed to come from experience and he wondered what sort of fool could leave those eyes behind. Ginny wasn't sure what made her do it, but she pressed a kiss to his Adam's apple, wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down with her. He let out a low groan as he pushed inside her, pulled her legs around his waist. It was surprisingly easy to be vulnerable with her and he decided it was purely the nature of their relationship, the fact that he'd probably never see her again after the night was over. For that reason, he pressed his face into her neck, made her whimper his name as he buried himself inside her, found the solace he'd been craving for so long. Who would have guessed it was waiting on Canal Street?

X

Ginny awoke the next morning with his arms around her waist. She rolled onto her back and he stirred but didn't wake. In the soft morning light, she considered his face. Long dark lashes splayed on his cheeks and his mouth seemed fuller shrouded by his beard. The urge to kiss him made her feel shy and she squirmed until his arms loosened so she could put a little distance between them. Manners or not, he was still a trick, and all tricks got the same treatment. His eyes fluttered open and he blinked a few times before they focused on her. He quickly remembered the circumstances of their coupling and let her go, his ears a little red as he sat up. "Good morning."

"Morning," she replied as she slipped out of bed. She stretched then headed for the bathroom. Mike climbed out of bed as well, took a robe from the closet and put it on then tossed the other one onto the bed. He looked at the bedside clock. It was past 6 so he guessed she wouldn't linger, but he wasn't in a hurry to make her leave. He ordered room service then went to door and took the newspaper sitting beside it. Her voice drifted from the bedroom a moment later. "Mind if I take a dip in your tub before I go?"

"Help yourself,"  he replied. A moment later, he heard the water turn on, and after that, the radio. He walked to the bathroom doorway and watched her fiddle with its dial until she found the station she was searching for.

"I can't fool myself/ I don't want nobody else to ever love me/ You are my shining star/ My guiding light/ My love fantasy/ There's not a minute, hour, day or night/ That I don't love you/ You're at the top of my life/ Cause I'm always thinking of you," she sang along as she climbed into the tub. He watched her sink beneath the water's surface and emerge, slicking her wet hair back from her face. A knock at the door took his attention away and he left to answer it. A bellhop wheeled in the cart and Mike gestured to the table near the balcony. He arranged the dozen plates on the table, took his tip with a nod of thanks, then left. Mike was about to go back to the bathroom but the phone rang and he stopped to answer it.

"I got Arguella by the balls," his attorney, Amelia, said, bypassing a greeting.

"Oh?" Mike replied. He didn't doubt that she did have Oscar Arguella, the target of their firm's latest raid, by the balls, but she had a certain excitement for ruining people's lives that he didn't share.

"Yes. He's been rejecting my calls for a month but suddenly today he calls because he wants to have dinner. So I made reservations for tonight at Celia's. The key here is to be social, lull him into thinking this is in his best interest, so have a few drinks. Take a date. I know a girl who'd be nice."

He rolled his eyes at her instructions as if he was a novice. The singing drifted through the room again and he smiled. "No thanks. I know a girl."

"Good. Hopefully we can close this by the end of the week."

"Yeah." He hung up just as Ginny entered the room, shrouded in the large robe. She had pulled her hair up on her head and her face scrubbed clean of its makeup seemed much younger. He smiled. "I didn't know what you'd want for breakfast so I ordered everything."

Her face lit up with surprise. "Everything? Wow."

She sat down in the chair nearest him and he began uncovering dishes. She took the plate with bacon and scrambled eggs and set it in front of her. "This would have been plenty. I have simple tastes."

He smiled, taking a plate with a stack of waffles. "Do you want a waffle?"

She nodded, her mouth full, and he took one off the stack to give her, watching as she broke it into fourths and dipped a point in syrup. She watched him as he read the Finance section of the paper. "So what's new in the world of corporate raiding?"

He looked up at her in surprise but answered, "Well this week I'm negotiating the acquisition of a hedge fund firm for about a billion dollars."

Her eyes widened. "A billion dollars?"

He nodded and ate some of his waffle then looked up at her. "So what are you doing tonight?"

"Same thing as last night."

He smirked. "I'm wondering if I can pay you for...company."

"Company? Like a date or something?"

"I've got a few business engagements this week and I'd like you to come with me."

She tilted her head, considered him. "You're a handsome guy—rich too—so I'm sure there are bunches of girls who'd go for free."

He shrugged, smiling a little. "I want a professional."

"Six days—nights too—is not gonna be cheap."

His eyebrows quirked. "I figured. So how much?"

She thought for a moment. "Six thousand."

"Six nights at $600 is $3600."

"You want days too," she reminded.

"Four thousand."

"Five."

"Forty-five hundred."

Deal, but you still have to pay me for last night."

"Separate transactions?" She smiled and nodded and he smirked. "Fine. We're having dinner tonight. Do you have a cocktail dress?"

"Fit for your crowd? No."

"I can fix that." He set down his fork and stood. "I'll have a car take you to Fifth Avenue later today."

He nodded. He left the room and returned with a credit card. "Get a dress, shoes, a purse. Some things to wear this week. Whatever you'd like."

"I could use a new pair of boots," she replied.

"Help yourself." He gave her the card and she looked at his name printed across the bottom in raised lettering then set it on the table. He left her at the table, went to the bathroom and showered then dressed for work.

Ginny perched on the sink and took his undone tie in her hands. "So do you actually have a billion dollars?"

He shook his head. "My company probably has half that. We get the rest from investors, banks, and so on."

"So you give someone a billion dollars for their company and then what?"

"I break it up and sell it to other people or companies to turn a profit."

"So you're like a booster."

"A what?"

"Boosters buy stuff—clothes, electronics, jewelry—from trucks or the docks or whatever and sell it on the street."

"I suppose," he replied.

She nodded as she fixed his tie. "And you don't make anything."

"No."

"And you don't build anything."

"No."

"So what if someone doesn't want to sell to you?"

"Most large companies have stockholders and are run by boards. So what I do is become a majority stock holder then make a case to the board of trustees for why they should sell their company to me."

"And that works?"

He nodded. "Usually. Now the company I'm working on this week is a little different because there's no board. I have to convince the owner personally that I know better than he does."

"And you think he'll go for that?"

"He's in debt up to his ears. A billion dollars would do him a world of good."

"But he'd lose something he built himself. That's gotta suck."

"You'll find that business in general sucks."

She nodded. "It's kind of like when I get a trick with a wedding ring, or there's a carseat in the back of the car. You know, it's not my business, but it sucks to be in the middle of somebody's family like that. Like what are they doing while he's out paying for blowjobs on a Tuesday night? I just have to keep telling myself that it's not my business."

"Compartmentalization. What happened before you and what happens after isn't your concern."

She nodded again. "So where are you taking me?"

"A restaurant called The Salon. It's very nice. Do you like French food?"

"Like French toast, or snails and stuff?"

"Snails and stuff," he replied with a quirk of his smile.

She shrugged. "Do they have chicken?"

"Probably."

"Then I would be delighted."

X

Mike's driver, a congenial man named Blip, frowned as he watched Ginny slump in the backseat, her hands covering her face. "Can I do something, Miss?"

She gave a rough shake of her head, sniffed, then replied, "Just get me out of here."

He nodded and rolled up the partition to let her cry in peace. He picked up the car phone, dialed Mike's office. His chipper assisstant Evelyn answered on the third ring. "Mr. Lawson's office."

"Hey Ev, it's Blip. Is he available? It's kind of an emergency."

"I'll patch you through," she replied.

Mike's voice came through a moment later. "Mike Lawson."

"Mr. Lawson, it's Blip. Your, um, friend is crying and I'm not sure what to do. I took her down to Rodeo like you said and she went in a store. All of sudden she was storming out and now she's crying in the backseat."

Mike frowned. "Give her the phone."

Blip lowered the partition and the sound of soft sniffles filled his small space. He held the phone out to her. "It's Mr. Lawson."

She took the phone and he re-raised the partition. In the backseat, Ginny put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"What's wrong?"

A fresh wave of tears welled in her eyes and her voice cracked. "I tried to buy a dress and the lady was...awful. I'm used to people looking at me like I'm nothing but I've never been... She wouldn't even show me anything."

"Okay, okay." His voice was gentle. "Don't cry anymore. I'll fix it."

Twenty minutes later, he was packing his briefcase as Blip and Ginny waited at the curb. Amelia popped her head in his office but seemed to lose her thought when she saw that he was leaving. "Where are you going?"

"Out," he replied.

"But we've gotta go over strategy for ton—"

He looked up at her. "Amelia you work for me. That means I have the final say. And I said I'm leaving."

She opened her mouth and shut it again then left his doorway. Mike picked up his briefcase and left the building. When he stepped out into the blinding sunlight, Ginny was standing outside, leaning against the car. Her face was flushed, her eyes red-rimmed. He walked over and brushed her curls back off her forehead. "What happened?"

She sniffled, her mouth tight. "She told me they didn't have anything that would fit me then asked me to leave."

"I'm sorry." She shook her head, waved him off, and he tentatively reached for her. "I am, really."

"I just can't believe the way she looked at me. I know what I am, what I look like. But I would have thought somewhere that nice would have too much class to make me feel second rate." She bit the inside of her cheek, willed her eyes not to water again but her vision blurred with tears. Mike pulled her into his arms, smoothed her hair.

"I'll fix it," he murmured against the crown of her head. He ushered her back into the car and they returned to Fifth Avenue. Ginny pointed out the boutique she'd been to and Mike got out of the car. He shrugged off his blazer and gave it to her to put on. "Spit out your gum."

She spit it into the street, earning a horrified look from a woman in a large hat as she passed. He smirked. "I don't believe you just did that."

Ginny shrugged as she followed him into the store, closing his blazer around herself. A salesgirl scurried over to smile at him. "May I help you?"

Mike might have been charmed by her eagerness but he was far too annoyed at their treatment of Ginny. He loudly asked, "Who's in charge here?"

An older blonde woman appeared as if from nowhere and hurried to him. "I'm the manager, Julia. May I help you sir?"

"Is this the Madamoiselle owned by Al Luongo?"

She seemed surprised by the question. "Um, yes it is. Why do you ask?"

"Al and I just go back really far. We both went to Harvard." Her posture shifted immediately. Mike's hands found Ginny's slight waist and he pulled her beside him. "This is Ginny. One of your girls was very rude to her earlier today and I'm not happy about it. I don't believe Al would be particularly pleased either."

Her heavily made up face creased with concern. "Rude? One of my girls? Which one?"

He looked down at Ginny who was curiously taking in the encounter. It seemed everyone deferred to Mike and he expected nothing less. "Which one?"

She raised her chin from where it was tucked into his shoulder and looked around. She spotted the frowning peroxide blonde girl who had asked her to leave worriedly arranging clothes on a rack. She pointed her chin at her. "That one over there with the braid."

Julia turned around and looked at her. "Tara. A word please?"

She walked over, her eyes on her shoes, and Mike scowled as he looked her over, giving Ginny a reassuring squeeze. He looked up at Julia. "This seems like a classy place, Julia. Please explain to me why your employees would make an effort to offend potential customers."

"I didn't mean to offend her," Tara offered weakly.

Ginny scoffed and Mike pinched the tip of her nose, smiled until she smiled back. It vanished, quick as a coin toss, when he looked back at Julia. "Now I'm not a particularly angry man but I'm not pleased right now. How do we rectify that?"

"We offer our sincerest apologies, and I can offer my personal assisstance in finding the young lady anything she'd like."

Mike looked down at Ginny. "What would you like?"

She gave Julia a sullen frown. "Make Tara leave."

Julia turned to the salesgirl. "Goodbye Tara."

The young woman stalked to the back of the store and a moment later she left the store. Mike looked down at Ginny. "Do you want anything else?"

She smiled, shook her head. "Not from here."

Mike nodded and gave Julia a shrug as Ginny led him out of the store by her hand. They continued down the block and she frowned at him. "People are looking at me."

"People are looking at me," he replied with a smirk.

They went into a similar store and Mike repeated his routine of asking for the manager who turned out to be a balding man in a brown suit who seem to bouy at the sight of him. "Mr. Lawson, so nice to have you back here."

Mike looked at Ginny with a silly smile. "He's old friends with my credit card."

She exhaled a laugh then looked around the store until Mike regained her attention by pulling her close. "This is Ginny. She needs a new wardrobe."

"Oh we can help with that, sir," he replied eagerly.

"Where are your salesgirls? She's going to need a lot of attention."

"Of course sir."

"Understand what I'm saying. She needs to be treated like royalty. I don't expect her to stop smiling once."

"Yes sir. Of course sir." He looked to the back of the store. "Angela, Desiree, Michelle, we have a special customer."

Three women hurried from the back and Mike smiled at Ginny, gave her side a squeeze then led her to the couch in the middle of the store. The girls followed like ducklings, all of them intent on getting Ginny's attention as they offered outfits. She pointed to a black lace dress on a nearby mannequin. "I like that."

They hurried to strip the mannequin and Ginny turned to Mike, gave him a soft smile. "Thank you."

He smiled, shrugged it off. "I don't appreciate my money being disrespected."

"Can we get ice cream when we leave?"

"I was planning to go back to work, but I guess we could." There was something magical about her smile that made him feel like he'd blow off the world to spend a little time with her.

X

"I don't think he's going to sell you his company," Ginny commented as she pulled off the black gloves that matched her cocktail dress.

Mike turned to look at her. "Why do you say that?"

"He wasn't listening to you. He had that same look I get when a trick wants to talk—present company excluded of course," she gave him a small smile and he snorted. "His eyebrows were furrowed like he was paying attention and he kept nodding, but his eyes were glazed over. He was already at home watching tv."

Mike shrugged. "I own ten million shares of stock in his company. He'll cave."

Ginny scooted closer in the back of the limo and reached up to massage the wrinkle out of his forehead. "You know what we should do? We should stay up all night watching old movies and veg out on the couch. We can get some cheesecake from room service and eat until we're sick."

"Veg out?"

"Be really still like vegetables," she explained.

"I don't think i'm cut out for the vegetable lifestyle."

"Well we'll find something else to do so you can get out of your crankypants."

He laughed. "Crankypants. That's a new one."

When they reached their room, Mike immediately called Amelia to strategize. Ginny slipped out of the dress and laid it across the chair then went into the bathroom and filled the tub with warm water and cinammon bath oil. When she went back into the living room, he was still on the phone. She straddled him and removed his tie, laying it across the table beside him, singing along to the radio.

"The time is right/ You hold me tight/ And love's got me high/ Please tell me yes/ And don't say no/ Honey not tonight..." She unbuttoned his shirt, undid his pants, then slipped onto the floor and untied his shoes. She pulled them off along with his socks then trailed her nails up her calves, smiling when his words caught in his throat. He reached down and tweaked her nose, shaking his head at her and pointing at the phone. Ginny shook her head too, moved back to his shirt and pulled it out of his pants.

Amelia's voice drifted farther and farther beyond his consciousness as Ginny pulled his growing erection out of his boxers. She ran her thumb over the head and he nearly dropped the phone, smirking at the way she laughed. Amelia's voice made him frown. "Mike are you listening to me?"

"No," he answered honestly, his fingers threading in Ginny's curls. "Call me tomorrow."

Whatever she was saying was cut off by him hanging up the phone. He looked down at Ginny, smiled at her innocent smile. "You're incorrigible."

She smiled. "Some people think it's cute."

Mike exhaled a laugh. "And I suppose you wanted something?"

She nodded and Mike stood, shrugged off his dress shirt as Ginny lowered his pants and boxers. She stood, took his hand, and led him to the bathroom, glowing softly with candles. "Since you didn't wannt veg out, I figured you'd like this better."

Mike smiled as he climbed into the tub and sank into the warm water. He looked at her expectantly. "Are you going to join me?"

Ginny turned her back to him and unhooked her bra. She shimmied out of her panties and sat on the edge of the tub to pull off her thigh highs. She climbed into the tub and straddled him. "So how'd you get into corportate raiding?"

"I feel like we've spent too much time talking about me." He took the bar of soap and dipped it in the water then began lathering her shoulders. "How did you get into...?"

"I wanted to be a dancer once upon a time. I've been doing ballet since I could walk. So I came up here to audition for a few schools. I got in but the tuition was ridiculous. So my roommate got me a job go-go dancing at night. It was decent money but still not quite enough. And then one night this guy offered me a hundred bucks for a private performance behind the club. I cried the whole time," a haunted look ghosted her face, "but it was easy enough money so I tried again. Eventually I was making more money moonlighting than dancing so I let the club gig go. A few months passed and here I am."

Mike nodded, moved on to her chest. "Where are your parents?"

"My dad wanted to be a baseball player his whole life. He got called up to the minors when I was 2 and that's the last my mom ever saw of him. She got remarried but Charlie never was a kid person. He liked me well enough so long as I didn't get in his way. He paid for all my dance lessons because it gave me somewhere to be after school so he could have my mom all to himself. And she didn't like that he didn't want me around, but she was determined not to be divorced and struggling ever again. She used to say, 'Genevieve, we've all got our crosses to bear and dresses to wear.' Now I go back to Maryland at Christmas sometimes. Haven't been in a few years though."

"Did you ever see your father again?"

She shook her head. "He didn't want me. Well, maybe he did. But he wanted the game more so I figured darkening his door wouldn't do any good. And he died a few years ago—drunk driver crossed the median and hit him head on—so I guess I'll never know."

He wasn't sure what to do with the information, what response he could have for her utter aloneness. "And you never thought of getting a regular job? "

Ginny shrugged. "What am I supposed to do? Flip burgers for 7 dollars an hour? Wait tables for tips? Get a job in one of those snobby boutiques?"

"You could go back to school."

"That's how I ended up here in case you weren't listening." She took the soap, lathered his chest, and Mike picked up a sponge, made small soft circles on her back.

"Maybe you could go for something else. Get a skill."

She shook her head. "I'm not that smart. I graduated by the skin of my teeth. Dancing's the only thing I've ever been good at."

He smoothed her hair back. "I think you're very bright."

"You're probably the only one." She made a point of not looking at him. "Do you mind if I get out? I'm a little cold."

He nodded and she climbed out of the tub. Mike watched her wrap herself in a towel and walk to the bedroom. She switched the radio off and he rinsed off then got out too. They didn't speak as he watched her dress for bed. He pulled on boxers and climbed into bed, surprised by the heaviness of his eyes as he lay down. The bed shifted with her weight as she climbed in beside him. She lay with her back to him and he thought of reaching for her but the space seemed deliberate.

He was asleep when Ginny finally rolled over. She scooted closer, reached out to stroke the downy soft hair on his cheek. When he didn't stir, she scooted a little closer, pressed the briefest kiss to his lips.

X

The size of the crowd made Ginny uneasy as she got out of the car. She gave Mike a frown as he got out of the car behind her. "I didn't think there would be so many people here."

He shrugged. "The words charity and brunch are magnets for New York's alleged elite."

She turned to look at him. "What if someone recognizes me?"

"I doubt anyone here spends a lot of time on Canal Street's hooker stroll."

She frowned. "You did."

Mike wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her away from the car. "You'll be fine. Just smile."

Ginny smiled until Mike kissed her nose. She blinked at him, unsure of what to make of the intimacy, but straightened her shoulders and smoothed the pleated fronts of her coral shorts. The outfit was her personal favorite from their shopping trip, a blazer and matching knee-length shorts. She had laughed when Mike teased her about being dressed like a schoolboy. They entered the small restaurant and Mike led her to their table. A ceramic-looking blonde woman was already there, her smile devoid of all warmth. She stood when they approached.

"Ginny this is my lawyer Amelia Slater. Amelia, this is Ginny Baker." Mike wasn't sure how the two women would mix but they shook hands amicably enough.

"Nice to meet you Ginny," Amelia replied. "So you're the girl who's had Mike smiling all week."

Ginny looked up at Mike with a smirk. "You smile? I didn't know that."

He laughed. "Because it's not true."

"So how did you meet?"

Ginny licked her lips, looked to Mike to answer. "She gave me directions to the hotel. She's quite fond of your car."

"It's a rental but thank you." She looked around them and her eyes lit up. "Mr. Arguella!"

Ginny looked over her shoulder and smiled at the dark-haired, remembering him fondly from dinner. He smiled as he approached them. "Well isn't this a pleasant surprise, a bit like steppign in gum."

Ginny snorted and Amelia frowned at her but Oscar smiled, looked from Ginny to Mike. "She gets my sense of humor. I like her."

Mike smiled at Ginny. "You never laugh at my jokes."

She laughed. "You don't make any."

"Would you like to join us? We've got an extra seat," Amelia interjected.

Oscar's smile never wavered. "I suppose I could. I'm afraid I don't know many people here. I think I got the invitation by accident. Although this charity is near to my heart."

Ginny read the name "Alex's Lemonade Stand" on a banner hanging in the middle of the room. "What's it for?"

"Childhood cancer research. A little girl named Alex set up a lemonade stand to raise money for research. She lost her fight with leukemia and her parents started Alex's Lemonade Stand in her honor," he explained.

She looked at Mike, wondering what childhood cancer research would mean to a childless corporate raider. "Is this a charity you support?"

He nodded, his expression unreadable. "I lost my big brother when I was 5. Osteosarcoma. He was 6. He lost his leg. After that, it was just a matter of months."

She squeezed his hand, her throat dry as she tried to imagine something so tragic happening to someone so young. "I'm sorry."

x

Amelia watched Ginny and Oscar laugh as they stood facing the restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows. She looked at Mike. "She's pretty."

He nodded, didn't reply. His eyes were on them too, wondering what was so funny. Amelia went on, "She sure is chummy with Arguella. They must have hit it off at finner."

Mike shrugged. "She's just friendly."

"Is she?"

He turned to look at his attorney. "What are you getting at?"

"That this girl sprung up just as we got Arguella on the ropes. How do we know she isn't some kind of plant?"

Mike laughed harder than he meant to. "She's a hooker."

"What?" Amelia blinked at him then turned to look at Ginny.

He nodded. "I picked her up on Canal Street in your car."

She finally laughed, deciding she believed him. "A hooker? You know you never fail to surprise me."

Mike only shrugged, his laugh gone and his frown back as he looked at Ginny and Oscar again.

Later, Amelia sidled up to Ginny. She looked around for Mike and found him trapped by two brunettes who were apparently having a hair-flipping contest. She turned her attention back to the young woman who was reading a charity leaflet. "Having a nice time Ginny?"

Ginny looked up at her, smiled as she nodded. "Everyone's so nice here."

Amelia nodded too. "Pretty different from Canal Street, huh?"

Her smile disappeared and she turned to look at the other woman with wide eyes. "What?"

Amelia nodded again. "Oh yeah Mike told me. I've gotta say I almost didn't believe him. You're not really what comes to mind when I think streetwalker."

Ginny's voice was tight. "Well thank you."

X

Mike frowned as he followed Ginny into the hotel room. She stalked to the bedroom, took off her blazer and stepped out of her heels. He went to the doorway, watched as she unbuttoned her blouse. "Is something bothering you?"

"I'm fine," she replied, not looking up at him.

"Fine. That's the seventh 'fine' I've gotten since we left brunch. May I have another word please?"

She lifted her eyes to glare at him as she pulled off her shirt. "Asshole. How's that one?"

He smirked. "I think fine was a better option."

Her expression didnt change, instead seeming to become angrier as she stared at him. "Just tell me why you bothered buying me all these clothes—doing everything you could to make me not feel like a hooker—just to tell that bitch Amelia how we actually met? If you'd wanted everyone to know, you should have let me wear my own clothes! At least then I would have been prepared to deal with her!"

He frowned. "I didn't know what else to say to her. She thought you were some kind of spy for Arguella. I...wasn't prepared to answer questions about her.  And I hate to tell you the truth but you are in fact a hooker."

"I know that! But that doesn't give you or anyone else the right—" She stopped and began re-buttoning her shirt. "You know what? I don't need this. Just give me my money."

"What?" He blinked at her.

"You heard me. Give me my money. I wanna get out of here."

Mike watched as something shuttered closed behind her eyes. He sighed and pulled out his wallet, counted out her money, and dropped it on the chair beside her pile of clothes. He turned to leave then looked back at her. "For the record, I never treated you like a hooker."

He left the room but he heard her whisper, "You just did."

A few minutes later, she was storming past him, her clothes stuffed in a shopping bag. She left without shutting the door and he watched her hit the elevator button a few times, blinking rapidly. He went to the bedroom and saw the money was still where he'd left it then hurried to catch her before she left. He got to her just as the elevator arrived and said a word that made his chest tight, a word that he'd said to his ex-wife twice and had ignored, "Stay."

“Why?”

“Because I’m sorry.”

She turned to look at him, her eyes glassy. "You hurt me. I don't let people hurt me, Mike."

He reached out to cup her face, relief flooding him when she didn't pull away. "I won't. Never again."

The elevator attendant sheepishly cleared his throat. "Going down ma'am?"

They stared at each other for a few minutes, Ginny searching for any sign that he was lying and Mike trying his hardest to show that he wasn't, before she turned to the attendant. "No, thank you."

Mike took her bags and carried them back to into the room. Ginny followed a moment later and shut the door. Mike sat on the bed and she walked to him, put her hands on his shoulders. He looked up at her, his eyes gleaming with regret. "I mean it. I'm sorry."

"I know."

x

Later they lay in bed, a tangle of limbs shrouded in twisted bedsheets. Ginny looked up at him in the semi-darkness. "I'm sorry...about your brother."

He took a deep breath, his hold on her tightening. "Davie was my hero. I remember when he lost his leg and got the prosthetic. I cried and told my mom I wanted one too. I wanted to be just like him. All he ever did was build these lego models. He was too sick to go outside so he'd sit for hours and make them, and he always let me help. He built this city, called it Daveland because he owned everything in it, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I used to tell all my friends how my brother had his own city. You know I still have it? It's in my house in Westchester on the mantle. Davie's the reason I got into corporate raiding. He always said he wanted to take over the world, and now anything I want is mine. It's the best I could do for him."

His smile made him seem much younger, much lighter. She could almost picture him as a sandy-ahired little boy trailing behind his brother. "I'm sure he's proud. He's probably up in heaven telling everyone to come watch his baby brother take over the world."

"You think? I always wonder if this is what he'd want. He loved to help people, loved to build things, and I don't do that. If anything, I destroy them. Companies, dreams, ambitions. To get what I want, someone has to leave something dear to them. I don't think he'd be proud of that."

Ginny shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but it doesn't have to be that way. You've got money and money buys choices. You can walk away today and do anything you want. It's not like you'll ever go hungry."

"I love baseball. I played in undergrad, managed a little league team until grad school got too hectic."

"Maybe you could do that again. Maybe what you need is an outlet. Stuff to do besides meet clients. Friends besides Amelia. Maybe you just need a really fun hobby, an escape."

"What's your escape?"

She shrugged. "I don't have the luxury of escaping."

"You could. I mean," he paused, found his word, "I'm in the city at least half the month. Maybe we could make this a standing arrangement."

It was tempting, undoubtedly the best offer she'd ever gotten. "You mean like I'd have an apartment?"

He nodded. "You'd have an apartment and a driver. You could go back to school, or audition for a dance company or—"

"But this would still be an arrangement? I'd be your...professional girlfriend?"

"I think companion is a better term for it, but yes."

Ginny shook her head. "No."

"No?" Mike blinked at her. He was positive she didn't have any better offers. "You have better offers than this?"

She shook her head again. "No. It's not even about the offer, really."

"Is it me?"

She saw the ghost of the abandoned husband rise behind his eyes and quickly shook her head. "No it's not you. You're...wonderful. Well, I guess it is you then. This week has been great, and it showed me that hooking hasn't killed the romantic part of me. I still want love, real love with no price. It might sound silly—especially coming from me—but I want the fairytale. I don't think anyone will come swooping into my ivory tower to save me, but I think I have a happily ever after out there somewhere."

He stayed quiet for a long time, turning her words over in his head. "I don't think I can give you that."

She nodded even though he wasn't looking at her. "I know."

X

The next morning they were on opposite sides of the bed and Mike knew it was probably for the best, that they weren't those people no matter what the past few days had told him. He slipped out of bed, recounted her money and put it beside her bags, then got in the shower. Ginny awoke alone and rolled over into his warm spot, shrouding herself in the blankets. For a few more minutes, she could pretend. She listened to the shower run for a little while then got out of bed and went out onto the balcony. The city was already awake and moving as she leaned on the balcony walls and frowned at the clear sky. It didn't make any sense. You didn't have to get over someone you never dated. That wasn't how it worked. But there she was, mourning.

She wasn't sure how long she stood out there, only that when she went back inside he was already dressed and packing. She followed his lead, tossed all her things in her shopping bags and pulled on her gold dress and her boots. Compartmentalization and all that.

Mike watched her gather her things, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. She took one last look around the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything then turned her eyes on him. How he'd miss those eyes... "Well I guess this is it."

He nodded, gave a mirthless smile. "Looks like it."

They looked at each other, memorized every little detail, and Ginny's feet were moving before her mind caught up and suddenly she stood before him. She caressed his cheek, pressed her lips to his one last time, then smiled sadly at him. "That one's on the house."

Mike nodded, kept his mouth shut. If he opened it, he knew what would come out, and that couldn't happen. He'd played that fool before and had no interest in doing it again. Not even for eyes so brown and lips so soft and a smile that gave the sun a run for its money in radiance. He watched her leave, watched her call for the elevator. She looked at him one last time, gave a smile and a little wave. The elevator dinged and it was his turn for his feet to move without his head's permission. His mouth emancipated itself as well. "Stay."

She paused, handed the attendant a few bags then looked at him as he stood before her. "Why?"

"Because I can't live with missing you. This week has shown me that I've been waiting my whole life for you. I mean, what kind of coward was I to marry her and not wait for you to show up? I can't live without you. I can't breathe without you. I find myself waiting for you, watching for you. I—" His mouth had completely abandoned him, pouring out anything that might make her stay. "Your incessant humming, the way you constantly interrupt me, the way you steal all the covers, the way you eat off my plate even when you swear you're not hungry, that horse-y laugh. You are everything I never knew I needed and I can't live without you. So stay. Let me try. Let me spend every day for the rest of my life letting you know you made the right choice. Pl—"

Her lips cut him off and Mike stumbled back, his arms quickly encircling her and pulling her along. Their teeth bumped from immovable smiles and Ginny laughed. "Maybe you're a white knight after all."

"I've found my princess so maybe," he replied then kissed her again, deciding right then that every moment he wasn't kissing her would be spent getting ready to.

**Author's Note:**

> I work for comments XOXOXOXOXO


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